Legatisingdrugs

Discussion
l. Makc a list of all the
illegaldrugs that you
know:

2. Which of those are

soft clrugs
and u
3.which
orthe;;,*, inyour
li,,n,.JI'fiTri,;!"("i',,
4. Dr yru know differeni rgerousare they?
names f;;;. same drug?
-5.Do you know what
rhe following _."r,
rril a joint

, *,,^::::("' :;'"::!i',, ::;Y,'l;'o:,r,)','l')ii!,"'"

7Are, ,'::,""0
r,".",nf J,* J:ff;:i*il::Tj:iiT-;;j:'i"T:T:,i:;
l,'#fi Ti*: *;ir,
Reading
As you read through
the articfe think of
rf you taereon the panet,
*.,;:"r::;.;:,:;:::.,:;::"*,
conctusion?
GRASS IS GOOD FOR
YOU
A panel of doctors,economists,
parentsand police officers there who are wandering !
around proved that legal I
in the dark.streetsat substances such
United Srates has decided night trying to buv as
rhat marijuanafor pain nicotine and alcohol are
drugsshouldbe madelegal. reliei,.. said more far i
Their one of the doctors addictive and harmful.
conclusionstook into on the panel. "Marijuana
account "They should actually does some a
factors of crime, medicine be able to gei wnai good. a
and they need without The same cannotbe said of
evenprisonspace. entering the cigarettes .,
"We criminal underworld. and alcohol.,, I
have a prison population On other substances,the
of The effectiveness panel
over l0 million in this of marijuanaon agreed a
country. that drugs such as heroin
Many of thoseare in jail going rhrough and cocaine did t
l:1i""1:
for drug_ chemotherapy not serve the
relatedcrime, suchas has long Ueln community I'l
the saleJr known by in the same way
possession the medicalp.of"rrion,
of illegalsubstances,,, marijuanacould. but argued I
sarctan officer of the but political conservatives that I
Chicago raise opposition. still keepingthose substances
illesal I
Police Force. Because One senator meanl
of new, spoke out moneyfor criminalr.,,W. 1
tough laws, currently against the panel,s
3 out of 5 conclusions...I don't have peopleshootingeach I
peoplein prisonarethere can sympathise other.
because with.the patients, over tequila or controlling a
of drug-related crimes, but the iact is, prostitutes -
which marijuana is with Marlboros,,,saij
means little space is addictive and ..Keeping
left for harmful and o1 tle panel. -
violent criminals, the we don,t want that orugs 1_ll.l:.
illegal
-
ones the k i n d of allows peopleto do
thing in
yuftic. would really like to see communities," o u r rilegalthinss.'. t-
rocKed awav. he said. The pun"'i will shortly
5

But there were more ,l".panel disagreed. be

They
:1
reasons argued that,
for legalising drugs.
presenting
although mariiuana government.
its findings to the -l
I

::tr"d
"There r,": admirtedly u po,"niiully J
are cancer patients out
addictivesubstance,research
has
:
-1
t_-
J/ Legalisingdrugs
J
Taboosand /ssues
:l
-,
-]
Discussion
What were some of the reasons for legalisingdrugs mentionedin the article? Tick those which
mentionedin the article:
1. Drr"rgscan help peoplewho are ill.
2. Drugs keep cr:iminalsin br-rsiness.
3. Making drugs legal meansthat they can be taxed, and that meansrevenuefor the government.
4. Drug-traffickingis not as seriousas violent crime, accordingro many people.
-5.l.egalisingdrr.rgscould make the lob of law enforcementofficers much easier.
6. Alcohol and cigarettesare more addictiveand more harmful and are alreadylegal.
How many of those six points do you agree with?

Language
Use the following words to complete the sentences below:
immediate long-term legal illegal
heneficial damaging designer addictiue
l.Ciigarettesmoking is more . . . to your health than smoking marijuanaor cannabis.
2. Nicotine is more . . . than marijuana.
3. Mariiuana can have very . . . effectson cancerpatients,helpingthem through chemotherapy.
4. The . . . effectsof smoking dope are well-known - feelingextremelycarefreeand relared.The
. . . effectsilre lessclear.
-5.Horv can it be . . . for a l6-year-old to buy and smoke cigaretteswhen at the sametirre it is
. . . for a 2l-year-old to buy and smoke marijuana? It's crazy!
6. One of the biggestdangerstoday is the so-called. . . drugs which young peopleuse at
discosand parties.

Discussion
Do you agreewith the following opinions? Discussthem in small groups:

t . Gettinghigh on a joint is less 5. Soft drugs lead to hard drugs.Just

dangerousthan gettingdrunk.
1
z. People who smoke dope change
their personalityover time. They
becomeirresponsible,unreliableand
ruin their lives.
-). Thedrug laws in our country are
1
alreadytoo relaxed.Theyshould be
far stricter.Fine people for a first
offenceand then send them to prison
if they re-offend.lt's the only way.
4 . Experimentingwith drugs is OK. You
just need to know when to stop.
don't even think of starting!
6 . More people die from alcohol-related
problems or accidentsthan drug-
related problems. StatisticalIy, drugs
are saferthan alcohol.
7. All recreationaldrugsshould be made
legal for adults.That would
immediatelystop relatedcrime.
B. Somecountriesin the Far Easthave
the right idea - executeall drug
dealers.Thatwould soon stoa the
drugs trade.

Have you ever tried drugs? Do you know anyone who has? Which ones?
Do you know where to get drugs in your town?
What problems have you seen in your community caused by drugs?
What would be the effect of legalisingdrugs? Taketwo minutesto think of three implications.Then tell
your group what you have thought of.

Iaboos and /ssues Legalising drugs 37